Bruins earn another date with Flyers

Thursday

Who can forget last year's epic struggle between the Flyers and the Boston Bruins and how Philadelphia had to become the first team in 35 years to rally from a 0-3 deficit to stay alive?

Now the Bruins, who ousted Montreal 4-3 in overtime of Game 7 Wednesday night, have a chance for revenge, while the Flyers have a second opportunity to prove they are the better team.

The Eastern Conference best-of-seven semifinal series is expected to begin on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Safe to say, another seven-game series would send TV ratings soaring through the roof.

Many preseason predictions listed Boston as a strong contender to come out of the East this year.

"For me, the Bruins present a balanced lineup," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said on Wednesday, one day after his team eliminated Buffalo in the conference quarterfinals. "They have good forwards up front, depth up front. Mostly, when I look at the Bruins, I see balance, that back end and up front."

The numbers back up Laviolette's assessment.

While the Flyers have two players (Claude Giroux, Daniel Briere) in the top seven in playoff scoring, Boston's top man, Patrice Bergeron, entered Game 7 against Montreal in 21st place, with Chris Kelly next at 35th.

Instead, the Bruins like to grind opponents down instead of beating them with finesse.

"They can play a game with skill," Laviolette noted, "but they can play physical and that's probably what I see most in them."

That toughness is led by towering defenseman Zdeno Chara. The 6-foot-9 captain hits everything in sight, he's the Bruins' version of Chris Pronger with perhaps even more of an edge to his game.

The Flyers have a few days to rest and prepare for Boston, which is a luxury, according to Laviolette.

"It's really good," he said. "Especially today (Wednesday), the guys get to stay away from the rink, they don't have to come in and think about hockey. Even coming to the rink sometimes, it's that grind of coming in and you're going to work.

"Sometimes just a day off and a break away from that is a good thing and with the extra days we are allowed here we can utilize this to our advantage to come in fresh tomorrow. To have the day off and have the preparation time is always a bonus."

The Flyers became the first team in 23 years to use three goaltenders and win a playoff series. There's no guarantee Laviolette won't continue that merry-go-round.

He says he had to put a lot of thought into all the changes he made in the first round.

"There is a lot of thought that goes into it," he said, "and a lot of thought from different people. We make decisions and we act. I don't know if it is more challenging than last year with the tough decisions at that point as well, so I think that is just part of the job and things have to be done."

Leighton available

There were reports on Tuesday that goaltender Michael Leighton did not report to the Game 7 morning skate. Later in the day, it was announced that Sergei Bobrovsky had replaced Leighton as the backup to Brian Boucher.

On Wednesday, Laviolette was asked about the situation. Laviolette's response: "Michael Leighton is available. All of the players that you see here are available to me."

Short shots

Flyers defensemen Kimmo Timonen leads the playoffs in plus-minus with a plus-9. + Going into Wednesday night action, Giroux led the playoffs in assists (eight) and was tied for the points lead with nine. + Boucher's goals-against average (2.10) and save percentage (.934) are both fifth.

Flyers senior vice president Bob Clarke has been named the Western Hockey League's Alumni Achievement Award (professional player category) winner. Clarke, who led the Flin Flon, Manitoba Bombers to the 1968 WHL title, went on to a 15-year playing career and 19-year GM tenure in the NHL. Past winners of the WHL honor are Joe Sakic, Trevor Linden and Lanny McDonald.

Wayne Fish can be reached a twfish@phillyBurbs.com Follow Fish at twitter.com/waynefish1

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